


Jingle Bells And Comfort Bards

by deagle



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: AU, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crack Treated Seriously, Creature Jaskier | Dandelion, Cursed Jaskier | Dandelion, Cute Jaskier | Dandelion, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Jaskier | Dandelion, Jask issa Burrito, Jaskier wears a bell cuz Geralt put it there, M/M, Men Crying, Non-Human Jaskier | Dandelion, Shrek References, Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Tails, Trauma, a bit - Freeform, creature!Jaskier, donkey jaskier, donkey!Jaskier, donkey!jaskier au, hybrid!jaskier, soft things, thanks freya sksksksk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deagle/pseuds/deagle
Summary: Geralt and Jaskier are having a wonderfully sunny day out on the road all by themselves.Though, maybe not all by themselves.Inner demons can be found anywhere and at any time.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 18
Kudos: 40





	Jingle Bells And Comfort Bards

**Author's Note:**

> 'Ello :) This is my first work on ao3 ever and I hope it's not complete garbage
> 
> I might add some art to the fic sometime :)  
> until then;  
> maybe you'll like the brainless donkey!jaskier content that's up on my Tumblr already  
> my Tumblr is @deagle ^^
> 
> 'Tis an au where Jaskier has the ears and tail of a donkey which might have happened due to a curse very long ago or maybe he was born with it (someday we'll know) and is used to hiding these features to avoid any mockery
> 
> I might make this into a series and see what more there is to tell about Shrek!Geralt and Donkey!Jaskier lmao :}
> 
> CRACK TREATED SERIOUSLY, unexpectedly soft

The bard had been in a particularly good mood on this fine spring day. Prancing and skirting over the cobble stone roads as if loads of people were here to adore him and his fine garments which he loved showing off, though he had not a lot of choice when it came to wearing his hat and long cloak...  
And in reality, there was only a grumpy witcher and his horse there to actually witness his mood.

He sang ever since the sun had risen and they had continued their path on from where they sat off from Temeria. The sweet light song was accompanied by the jingle of the little filigree golden bell which hung from the collar around his throat and he welcomed it, even shaking his head purposely or jumping on beat to make it produce a sound, his hat nearly flying off at every time.  
Geralt would be lying if he said his heart didn‘t swell with second-hand joy upon seeing Jaskier like this.  
It wasn‘t really a state of normality for the bard to embrace things such as the bell collar which Geralt had established in their companionship for numerous reasons. Today Jaskier was at peace with it and Geralt felt relieved.

“What do you think?", Jaskier inquired loudly and turned towards Geralt who rode behind him since Jaskier had trailed to the front of their caravan. The witcherman could clearly see the beads of sweat on Jaskier‘s chest that had formed due to the amounts of fabrics the musician wore. He bit back the offer to take Jaskier‘s cloak and hat and store them in the saddlebags for him. As much of a good mood he was in, he never enjoyed taking them off...

“Haven‘t heard it so far.", he commented thus.

“Tsk, I sure hope so! You aren’t yet able to see into the future. It‘s brand new! About the siren hunt from two sunrises ago! You will love the end, or maybe you won‘t? Eh, what‘s it matter.", so he sang and strummed disconnected yet consonant chords to go with the fresh lyrics. 

“Helpless sailors she draped into depths  
Of cold and dark wide voids  
And no silver brought harm  
Or a crick to her hair  
So down sank the witcher  
Into the abyss!“

Absentmindedly Geralt was tapping along with the rhythm of this song and listened to the fabricated story of a hero.

“Narrow, the henges!  
And ice cold, the streams!  
But clear sounded  
Her undying screams

The wolf angled his sword  
And stared with no awe  
Into her red eyes!  
And made his final- Haaw!!“

Geralt‘s hands held the reigns firmly still when he heard the sudden inhumane sound rupturing through and from the not-so-human bard with force. It had been a long time since Geralt had heard this sound outside of the privacy of a room in the back of an inn.  
It sure would be a party killer for Jaskier... what a pity, thought Geralt to himself sadly. He had much liked the lightness of his travel companion this very day...

His eyes wandered to the vibrantly blue and gold coat when he only was able to pick up a happy bell jingle, nothing else beside that.

The bard seemed to be holding his mouth shut, from what Geralt could see while Jaskier was standing with his back towards him.

“... Jaskier? “

It was directly after that when Jaskier broke out in a fit of laughter, doubling over and catching himself in a whole mix of a braying fest, this time much quieter and somewhat under control, though.

The white-haired man raised a brow in confusion and smirked despite himself. Jaskier didn‘t panic over this foreign voice taking him over in the most random moments of his wake? That was the best state of Jaskier if he‘d ever seen one. There the bard continued jumping and dancing on the road and only caught his breath between whistling wheezes which, he hated to admit, Geralt adored hearing.

The braying continued like the lyrics went on, seemingly more frequently now that Jaskier had embraced them for the first time... but he did not care for it, laughed and smiled at Geralt widely, wiping a tear of amused delight from the corner of his eye.  
A moment of self-acceptance? Was this what the bard was experiencing? Geralt wished that for him because Jaskier deserved to love himself as a whole just the way that Geralt loved him as a whole. With a donkey‘s ears and tail and voice. Geralt was here to remind him that he was beautiful and lovable, no matter what the people in his past had to say.

They travelled like this, joyful and gay, until ominous fences started to appear at the side of the road. Jaskier didn‘t think much of them and kept laughing at his hee-haw‘ing mishaps while they escaped his mouth.

All of a sudden, a loud thunderous bray broke the merry atmosphere and made the bard flinch most violently. Frantically he searched his throat... this hadn‘t been his doing.

"Look who‘s come to join.“, Geralt chuckled and led Jaskier‘s attention to the approaching gray jack by the fence. Geralt said this with no malicious intent but he immediately knew that he regretted the words when he saw Jaskier freeze and stare at the animal.  
It whipped it‘s head around, roared at the poor little bard expectantly who stood there petrified and clung onto his lute and the sound made him jump again.

Geralt knew exactly that Jaskier hated nothing more but being associated with the actual animals that shared the few non-human traits he had. Past traumatic events that the bard told him about when he opened up to him one night had taught him better than to mock the bard because of this. 

To the troubadour's grand misfortune he stood right next to the fence and had been helpless when the strange donkey threw it‘s head up, tipping Jaskier‘s hat off of his head with it‘s white snout in the process.

A gasp escaped Geralt‘s lips when two long ears, covered in a thick chocolate brown coat of wavy fur, black at the very top and colored like sweet vanilla on the inner front side of the ears, unfolded from the younger man‘s head of hair.  
As always, they were finely groomed like Jaskier liked to care about all of his body every day and night.

It was an absolute rarity to see Jaskier‘s head uncovered in the broad sunlight but it was a sight to see. Geralt adored his bard... the lovely soft fur which Geralt could practically feel under his fingers, had a tint of reddish brown in the sun gleam and looked very warm and soft to touch.

Now the ears flicked around nervously and he looked just about beyond terrified when the echoing bray of victory hit his unprotected ears at full force. Even Roach steered and shook her head, reigns escaping Geralt‘s hands, and she neighed at the rude animal loudly and stomped her hooves. She had had enough.

In the exact moment Jaskier‘s head shot to the direction of the source of noise and his ears were pinned to the sides of his head, scared. Geralt quickly took in his trembling shoulders and his glassy eyes, the tiny pupils. Oh, how he felt for his poor bard... who could have known this would happen? 

The man’s flight mode was set off when that donkey gave a last annoyingly loud screech. He ran forwards and stumbled on his hat that was resting on the ground still. But he caught himself quickly and soon disappeared down the hill and out of sight. Geralt knew it was best for his mental state to escape this donkey behind the fence as quick as possible.

Thus, Geralt shooed it away, jumped off of Roach with an awful feeling in his stomach and picked up the fine and expensive feathered hat. He dusted it off carefully and set off with Roach to find his pitiful bard.

It wasn‘t long after when his hearing picked up a hitch of breath and a muffled whine. With no hesitation he walked more quickly, Roach did so by herself when she heard it, too. Something wasn’t right.

He caught sight of the cloak, bright gold rimmed and embroidered, blue delphiniums stitched to the back of it and it was hanging stuck to a bush of thorny roses. Seeing this was a big contrast of color to Geralt‘s sensitive eyes and he picked it from the thorns careful not to rip the fabric. Jaskier must have gotten caught by the thorns here and freed himself... Jaskier-

Seconds after the new discovery a sob reached Geralt‘s ear and he looked for his poor bard immediately. There, by the shadows of an elder tree sat a little hunched figure and shook with sobs. The man‘s arms were slung over his head that rested in between his angled knees to his chest. 

“Oh Jaskier.", hummed the witcher and stepped closer slowly. A rich brown tail curled by the side of his body, the black tassel at the end shaking with the sobs.

“Hey.", he tried and knelt by the tiny frame of the man who had been jumping around happily just a few minutes ago...  
Roach approached him slowly as well and bumped her snout against Jaskier‘s shoulder before Geralt could stop her.  
Jaskier fell out of his trance and lifted his head instantly, looking directly into the mare‘s eyes but his arms were still fixed atop his head.

“Hey girl.", he sniffled with a weak voice and two tears at once ran down either side of his flushed face. Geralt decided to stay silent for a moment more and kept kneeling just a few feet away, hat in his hands and cloak slung over his shoulder. The urge to wipe his best friends tears away was almost overwhelming.

Roach neighed most softly and pressed her snout to Jaskier‘s chest. He hiccupped when her cold skin touched his bare chest and giggled brokenly. Only now did he let go of his head to place two shaking hands to her face and found slight comfort in stroking her snout with her warm breath hitting his knees.  
All the while Geralt watched them; The way Jaskier‘s tail had gone lax next to him, how his ears flopped down sadly and his shoulders quaked.

Jaskier was hit with another wave of tears not long after and he scooted away from Roach, not wanting to annoy her with his fits.  
He grabbed at his ears unkindly and pulled them downward until they hurt and curled in on himself.

“Jaskier, hey-", Geralt stepped in and huddled closer on his two knees.  
“Jask ... “, he called softly again when he was greeted with no answer or reaction and the cries continued.  
“There there.", he whispered and placed his arms around his bard warmly, held him safe.  
Geralt didn‘t look like one to grant other living beings beside Roach his comfort, but Jaskier, who had always cared for Geralt like he cared for himself, which was greatly, was an exception to the rule.

When warm fur brushed his cheek, he knew that Jaskier had let go of his ears to hug Geralt back weakly.  
“Hush.", soothed the deep voice of the older man and Jaskier tilted his head in response so that his ear lay by the witcher‘s chest to pick up the soothing purr of his voice.

Geralt softly got a hold on Jaskier‘s other ear, caressed it with his hand and pulled Jaskier closer into his lap, making sure at any time that his spine was laying comfortably. 

“I‘m here, it‘s alright. You‘re alright.“

Admittedly, hearing Geralt‘s voice near and having his rough hands handle him so gently was the greatest comfort he could have asked for.

„I should have... known something was approaching that fence. I would have led Roach on before that animal could have spotted us at all. I should have-"

"I-I know.", the bard whispered and cuddled closer.  
"Not y-your f-ault... "

Geralt could see the wet pearls sparkle on Jaskier‘s flawless skin and he couldn’t help but protectively press Jaskier‘s head closer to his chest.

“You‘re not some vile creature. You aren’t a monster and I thank Melitele that you‘re the complete opposite from a human‘s nature.“

Jaskier sighed in response.

“You are the humblest being I ever came across.“

„I wish I were normal.", mourned the bard.

“You‘ll always be special to me.“, Geralt admitted and to his surprise, this little nicety left his lips easier than he thought it would.

At this, the man in his arms lifted his head from the warm hold and looked up at the warm citrine cat eyes that greeted him. He leaned into his palm when it came to wipe away his tears and he closed his eyes.

„How could I ever thank you for being so undyingly sweet to your sorry bard...", he whispered.

Geralt planted the softest of caresses between Jaskier‘s brows and let this be his answer.

“You must be exhausted.", the witcher said and helped his dear friend up on two unsure legs. He loaded the hat and cloak on his saddle and fished their waterskin out of one of the bags to uncork it and give it to Jaskier, who drank eagerly. He knew, as well as Geralt, that whenever he let those sounds over-power him and rip at his throat or when he cried, his voice got awfully hoarse. 

“It‘ll be alright.“, Geralt reassured him, took the waterskin and kissed Jaskier‘s temple. The bard blushed sweetly in response and gave a shy smile.  
He would be alright yes...

“I will tie the hat to Roach and the cloak as well.", decided the rider.  
Jaskier didn’t protest immediately but listened some more as he was sure Geralt wasn’t done talking yet.

“It‘s too hot for the cloak anyways and... you look very... pretty when the sun shines on your face. It‘s also healthy-", Geralt tried saving himself from that embarrassing confession. Jaskier always looked pretty but the sun simply-

His thoughts drifted to a halt when Jaskier giggled.  
“You‘re right... just as long as there aren’t any other travelers near?", he clung to his friends arm for another second. It was unusual to travel uncovered but he didn’t feel like hiding now... not after Geralt had consoled him so dearly and made him feel better.

“Of course.", Geralt nodded and petted Jaskier‘s lovely teak brown hair. With more confidence in himself, his ears lifted higher and he smiled at his witcher with dusted pink cheeks.

Geralt coughed, he wasn‘t any good at this whole lovebird game. It would be best to continue now... right? Right.

Jaskier chuckled. Because of course he did. Geralt wasn’t made for soft things. But maybe Jaskier could teach him? He would like that very much.

“We‘ll reach the next town before the sun sets. Not very populated, we‘ll have dinner and get a large room.", he explained, hoped to the gods above he didn’t come off as weird when implying they would be sharing one room even though the inn had plenty to spare, and secured the bard‘s clothes on the saddle. He would continue beside Roach by foot, next to his friend.

“Sounds perfect.". Jaskier‘s smile looked right where it belonged and the tears were no more when he stepped out of the shadows and stretched himself in the sun in all his adorable glory.

Geralt smiled instinctively. And he knew full well that Jaskier‘s body felt awfully restricted when covered. For one, his hearing was dulled due to the hat and his tail which was nothing but an elongated spine in some sense didn’t have the freedom to move, stretch or swish automatically when the cloak hindered him. With his freedom to move and the sun shining brightly, his spirits were going to be lifted in a few more minutes. It made barely any difference now that his voice was done with singing for today.  
He was alright.  
And so was Geralt.

“Geralt?“, he rasped and stepped closer again.  
“Do you mind?“, the smaller man, only taller by his ears‘ length, held out his open palm in which lay the little ribbon for a collar with the bell attached.  
“I uh.. took it off when I ran.", he sounded guilty and rubbed at his neck apologetically.

“No problem.". Geralt took the collar and was about to store it away. He knew he was wrong to assume that at any point Jaskier had ever enjoyed wearing it at all... now he felt bad for having Jaskier wear it for so long.

“What, no! Not the bags. My neck!“, he coughed shortly after his exclamation. He was really in for something with his sore throat...  
“Would you put it back on me? Please?", he asked nicely with big eyes.

“Oh-", the other man shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
“Yes. I uh- yes."

Slightly flabbergasted he went on to tie it to Jaskier‘s neck carefully and saw a smile spread on Jaskier‘s cheeks.

Geralt chuckled and rang the bell with a little flick of his finger which made Jaskier laugh lightly and he leaned his forehead against his strong chest to inhale his scent for a long moment.

He saw the movement of the rather short brown tail swing from side to side slowly which displayed Jaskier‘s contentment.

The songless bard separated himself from his strong friend and hesitated at first but then took his hand shyly. It fit perfectly into the larger hand, Geralt thought and kissed it.

And so, they continued their path hand in hand, Geralt being the one who filled the silence with stories of his earlier monster hunts that he deemed worthy of being ballad-material. Jaskier loved to listen and his smile did not falter a single time.

The end <3


End file.
